Production of fire-extinguishing foam



Dec. 20, 1927.,

L. BURGESS PRODUCTION OF FIRE EXTINGUISHING FOAM Filed July 10, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec; 20, 1927. 1,653,147

L. BURGESS PRODUCTION OF FIRE EXTINGUISHING FOAM Filed July 10, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2- FIG-6 Patented Dec. 20, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS BURGESS, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO STANDARD OIL DEVEL- OPMENT COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

PRODUCTION OF FIRE-EXTINGUISHING- FOAM.

Application filed July 10, 1924. Serial No. 725,254.

processes and apparatus for extinguishing fires by means of foam. Among the principal objects of the invention are to provide for the proper mixture of the foam-producing solutions, and to apply the foam to the inflammable liquid in a highly efficient manner.

Heretofore it has been the ordinary practice to pass the foam-producing solutions together into a pipe or chamber in which mixing and reactlon take place simultaneously. For example, an aqueous solution of aluminum sulfate and an aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate, containing a foam stabilizer, may be discharged into a chamber in which the entering solutions are mixed while reaction is in progress. I have discovered that the production of foam before thorough mingling of the solutions has occurred may materially reduce the efliciency of the foam.

. sive zone of flame before reaching the surface of the ignited oil. In addition to the adverse effect of the flame upon the fire extinguishing properties of the foam, the latter may acquire suflicient velocity in its fall to penetrate the surface of the oil. The efficiency of foam that has become covered with oil in this manner is low.

In accordance with the present invention, these difliculties are avoided and positive advantages are obtained by feeding the solutions in such manner that mixing and reaction take place as successive steps, and by mounting the foam-producing device so that it is at all times in predetermined relation to the varying oil level.

distributing apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a vertical central section through the same;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on line IIIIII, Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on line IVIV, Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the device installed in an oil tank, a portion only of which is shown; and

Fig. 6 is a view showing a preferred method of flexibly connecting the device to a source of liquid supply.

In the drawings, reference numerals 1 and 2 denote pipes through which the foam-pro ducing solutions are respectively introduced into chambers 3 and 4, from which they pass separately upward through narrow passageways 5 and 6. The passageways are formed by vertical partitions having alternately arranged end closures, so that the solutions may travel upwardly from chambers 3 and 4 in adjacent streams. At the top of the passageways, baflie means are provided for causing an intimate admixture of the solutions. Such means may advantageously be rods 7 extending in close parallelism to the orifices of the passageways. It will be seen that each solution as it reaches the obstructing rod is diverted tangentially to. meet a tangential stream of the other solution emerging from an adjacent passageway.

The combined reagents in thorough mixture pass upwardly through a column 8, where some reaction may take place. The column may contain material adapted to provide tortuous channels, such as fragmentary packing 9, to still further insure complete mixing. It is possible to obtain some of the advantages of the invention by the use of a packing material as the only mixingmeans. In expansion chamber 10 reac tion is finished and the foam is discharged beneath a cover 11, which deflects it in the desired manner.

I have discovered that there is a sufficient interval between the mixing of most foamproducing solutions and the initial production of substantial amounts of foam, to permit the separation of the stages of mixing and reaction. The velocity of flow to the mixing column may be readily regulated so that no material foaming occurs until the mixed solutions have reached the desired zone. In this way production of the best quality of foam is secured.

While the mixing device described may be advantageously used in various connections, I prefer to embody it in a flexibly mounted apparatus which I have devised to distribute the foam in the most effective manner. In the form of the invention shown, the

mixing chamber is provided with an annular float 13 adapted to support the device on the surface of the inflammable liquid. Various other buoyant means, suspending devices, or the like, may be used. Flexibly mounted pipes 14 and 15 may be connected to the device for supplying the foam-producing solutions. When such an installation is used, the foam is always discharged adjacent to the surface of the oil and the deterioration due to falling from an elevated device is Prevented.

So far as I am aware, the provision of a foam-producing apparatus having a constant relation to the varying surface of an inflammable liquid is new in the art, and I contemplate applying this idea in a variety of mixing and distributing means other than that illustrated. As noted above, however, the combination as here shown is particularly advantageous.

I claim:

1. Method of mixing solutions adapted to produce a fire-extinguishing foam, comprismg substantially completely comminglmg the solutions within the period before material foaming takes place.

2. Method of making a fire-extinguishing foam, comprising mixing foam-producing solutions at such a rate that mixing is substantially complete before material foaming takes place, permitting the solutions to react and expand approximately completely, and thereupon discharging the foam upon the surface to be protected.

3. Method of mixing foam-producing solutions, comprising bringing them together in distributed condition.

4. Method of mixing foam-producing solutions, comprising bringing them together in thin streams at such a rate that mixing is substantially complete before material reaction occurs.

5. Method of mixing foam-producing solutions, comprising passing the solutions separately in thin streams to adjacent orifices, and there deflecting them tangentially into contact.

6. Method of mixing foam-producing solutions, comprising bringing them together in thin streams, and then passing the combined solutions through material providing tortuous channels.

7. Method of making a fire-extinguishing foam, comprising mixing small streams of foam-producing solutions at such a rate that mixing is substantially complete before material reaction occurs, and passing the mixed solutions to a reaction zone.

8. Method of making and distributing a fire-extinguishing foam, comprising mixing foam-producing solutions at such a rate that mixing is substantially complete before material foaming takes place, permitting reaction to proceed, and discharging the resulting foam from a station having at all times a substantially constant relation to the varying level of the inflammable liquid to which the foam is to be applied.

9. Method of distributing a fire-extinguishing foam, comprising discharging the foam from a station having at all times a substantially constant relation to the varying level of the inflammable liquid to which the foam is to be applied.

10. Method of distributing a fire-extinguishing foam, comprising buoyantly supporting the source of foam, and discharging the foam therefrom directly upon the surface of the inflammable liquid to which the foam is to be applied.

11. Apparatus for making a fire-extinguishing foam, comprising chambers each receiving a reactive solution, passageways leading from the chambers and having adjacent orifices, and means for causing mixing of the solutions as they emerge from the orifices.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11 in which the orifices of the passageways are elongated and are provided with bafiies adapted to project the solution into contact with the solution coming from an adjacent passageway.

13. Apparatus for making a fire-extinguishing foam from solutions adapted to react with the production of such foam. comprising passageways, pipes for introducing said solutions separately into the passageways, means adjacent the passageways for causing an intimate commingling of the solution passing therethrough, a reaction compartment of considerably greater cross-section and volume than said passageways, and means for conveying the mixed solutions to the reaction compartment.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13 in which the reaction compartment carries means for deflecting the foam in the desired direction.

15. Apparatus according to claim 13, in which the passageways are formed by a sinuous partition wall, on opposite sides of which the reactive solutions are respectively discharged, and means for mixing the solutions as they pass over the wall.

16. Apparatus for making a fire-extinguishing foam, comprising a mixing and reaction device and means for maintaining the device at all times in a predetermined relation to the varying level of the inflammable liquid upon which the foam is to be discharged.

17 Apparatus for making a fire-extinguishing foam, comprising a mixing and reaction device and buoyant means adapted to support the device adjacent to the varying surface of a liquid.

18. Apparatus for making a fire-extinguishing foam, comprising a mixing column,

an enlarged reaction compartment connected thereto, and an annular float encircling the compartment and adapted to sustain the same upon the surface of a liquid.

19. Apparatus for making a fire-extinguishing foam, comprising a buoyantly supported mixing and reaction device and flexible connections for supplying reactive solutions to the device.

LOUIS BURGESS. 

